If we had any photo doctoring skills at all, we'd get a picture of Jay Cutler in a Cubs jersey throwing out the first pitch at Wrigley Field and put him in a Sox jersey. But we don't possess those talents, so we'll just let you know this way that Cutler is scheduled to take the mound on the South Side.

The White Sox announced that the new Bears quarterback will throw out the ceremonial first pitch Friday night before their game with the Texas Rangers at U.S. Cellular Field.

*** Former Whitney Young star Russell Maryland is teaming together with Bears tight end Greg Olsen to support a scholarship fundraiser for their school--the University of Miami.

Maryland will be honored at a dinner May 28 at the Metropolitan Club at Sears Tower in the 11th annual Chicago Scholarship Classic. Olsen is scheduled to appear along with Miami head coach Randy Shannon, other members of his staff and Pro Football Hall of Fame member Ted Hendricks. The event will be emceed by Bryan Dolgin of WMVP AM-1000. He is a 1997 graduate of the school. A golf outing will follow May 29 at Oakbrook Country Club in Oak Brook at 1 p.m.

For more information and tickets visit www.chicago-canes.org.

We touched on the strength-of-schedule issue the Bears had moving forward a few weeks ago, noting their 2009 slate was the easiest in the league, a function of having two games with 0-16 Detroit more than anything else.

Kevin Seifert at ESPN.com goes into the issue a little further and made some great points worth considering. First, when teams like the Miami Dolphins can go from 1-15 to being in the postseason the next year, the statistics really don't tell you a whole lot. The fortunes of many clubs swing so dramatically on a annual basis that it's hard to take a whole lot out of the chart. It is worth noting that the Pittsburgh Steelers just claimed the championship having played the most difficult schedule in the league.

Jimbo Covert is running for office.

According to Mark Maske of the Washington Post, the former Pro Bowl left tackle for the Bears is one of five finalists to become the executive director of the NFL Players Association. Covert and other finalists interviewed for the job earlier this week in Dallas and a second round of interviews are forthcoming. A vote is expected to take place in March at the annual meeting in Hawaii.